Monday, January 28, 2008

Book Club Questions -- 2

We're moving on to a few other book club questions regarding Spires, which I'll try to answer without any major spoilers:

1) How did Hannah change over the course of the story?In a nutshell, I think she went from girl to woman.

Some book clubbers wondered why she was so trusting at first. To me, it was simple: Hannah was innocent and pure in heart and it never would have crossed her mind that a person she trusted would do something intentionally cruel or deceitful.

Lesson learned the hard way.

2) What kept Ben and Bethany at odds for so long, when their fight began from single argument?In a nutshell, individual pride. It's that pride that kept each of them from making the first step toward reconciliation for so long. Pride is what led to the fight in the first place. It's also what fueled their banter.

3) Why did Claude have to go away?In his eyes, it was the only way he could live with himself. In my eyes, it was a way for him to find redemption.

I love getting reader questions, especially those that make the characters feel as real to the readers as the characters feel to me.

One of my favorite reader questions of all time came from a woman, a second wife, who had read Lost without You. Her question was reported to me through another person, but this was the gist:

"How did she know what it feels like [to be a second wife]?"

When I heard that, I felt such satisfaction. How did I know? I didn't, not really. I tried to imagine what it would be like. To think I hit the nail on the head was gratifying.

Next up:1) How do you find time to write?2) How do you get your story ideas?